Case-Based Instruction in Early Childhood Teacher Preparation: Does It Work?

Case analysis is often used in early childhood teacher education as a constructivist method for developing students' professional skills and knowledge. Although case-based instruction is popular, the professional literature contains little empirical evidence that it effectively helps students develop professional knowledge. Indeed, some empirical evidence suggests case-based instruction may negatively impact learning, especially for students with limited existing knowledge about children's development. This study compared the child development content knowledge gains of two classes of undergraduate preservice early childhood teachers: those taught child development with case-based instruction and those taught the same content with traditional didactic instruction. The study also sought to determine if students' level of prior knowledge interacted with the type of instruction they received. Results indicated that students with strong prior knowledge out-performed classmates regardless of instructional method (i.e., case-based or didactic instruction). Students at all levels of prior knowledge had similar knowledge gains across both case-based and didactic instruction, but data trends suggest students with the least prior knowledge gained the most knowledge with case-based instruction.     

Teaching Practice Evaluation to Field Instructors

Field instructors tend to be inadequately trained in the use of single-systems designs to evaluate practice. This paper presents the results from a survey of 22 field instructors affiliated with a B.S.W. program. The instructors were divided into 3 groups for comparison: instructors who participated in three hours of specialized training designed to increase their knowledge of single-systems technology, nonparticipant instructors who reported a prior background in single-systems design, and nonparticipant instructors with no such prior background. Results indicated that participants felt more knowledgeable about single-systems designs, had greater comfort initiating discussions with students about such designs, and were more likely to assist students with single-systems design projects than the nonparticipant with no prior background group.     

The effects of cognitive strategy instruction on Chinese reading comprehension among Hong Kong low achieving students

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive strategy instruction (CSI) on Chinese reading comprehension of Hong Kong low achieving students. A total of 88 Grade 7 students from four intact Chinese language remedial groups were randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. Students in the treatment group received a 6-week Chinese CSI Program in their regular Chinese language lessons. The findings in this study generally supported that the Program had a positive impact on the reading development of low achieving students. Students who received strategy instruction made superior gains in comprehension performance, used more strategies during their reading process, had more knowledge about, strategy use, and showed a more positive attitude toward the reading instruction than did their peers who received traditional Chinese language instruction. Students’ improvements on their strategy use and reading comprehension were maintained 4 months after the termination of the Program. However, the positive treatment effects of the Program were not transferred to other school subject materials, and students’ reading motivation did not have significant changes after the Program. Factors contributing to the success of the Program as well as its limitations are discussed.     

Differential supervision and cognitive structure effects on empathy and counseling effectiveness

The present study investigated the effects of didactic and experiential supervision procedures on the judged counseling effectiveness of high and low cognitive complexity counselor trainees. Subjects in the two supervision groups (N=16) were trained in attending, questioning, and reflection of feeling over three sessions. Training consisted of exposure to videotaped counseling models, discussion of the model's behavior with the supervisor, videotaped role playing of therapy, and discussion of the therapy with the supervisor. Training was exactly the same for both groups except for supervision. A control group (N=8) did not receive any training. All subjects, including controls, were pre- and post-tested for counseling effectiveness as measured by judged tape ratings on the 25-item Counselor Effectiveness Scale and four scales designed to assess affective, exploratory, listening, and honest labeling responses.High complex subjects responsed more favorably to the didactic supervision significantly outperforming both the high complex controls and the low complex didactic subjects on four of the five dependent measures, whereas high and low complex subjects did not respond differentially to the experiential supervision. The results were discussed in terms of fitting the complexity of the students to the supervision approach in selecting students for counseling programs.This paper was presented at the International Round Table for the Advancement of Counselling, Thessaloniki, Greece, April 1980, and was based partly on the senior author's doctoral disser tation (University of Maine, 1978).     

Toward a Holistic View of Undergraduate Research Experiences: An Exploratory Study of Impact on Graduate/Postdoctoral Mentors

Involvement in research has become a fixture in undergraduate science education across the United States. Graduate and postdoctoral students are often called upon to mentor undergraduates at research universities, yet mentoring relationships in undergraduate—graduate/postdoctoral student dyads and undergraduate—graduate/postdoctoral student—faculty triads have been largely unexamined. Here, we present findings of an exploratory case study framed by relational theory that identifies the motives, gains, and challenges reported by graduate/postdoctoral students who mentored undergraduates in research. Graduate/postdoctoral mentors experienced a wide range of gains, including improved qualifications and career preparation, cognitive and socioemotional growth, improved teaching and communication skills, and greater enjoyment of their own apprenticeship experience. Notably, graduate/postdoctoral mentors reported twice as many gains as challenges, neither of which were limited by their motives for mentoring. Indeed, their motives were fairly narrow and immediate, focusing on how mentoring would serve as a means to an end, while the gains and challenges they reported indicated a longer-term vision of how mentoring influenced their personal, cognitive, and professional growth. We propose that understanding the impact of mentoring undergraduates on the education and training of graduate/postdoctoral students may uncover new ideas about the benefits reaped through undergraduate research experiences.     

The Use of Dynamic Assessment by Educational Psychologists in the UK

Training in Dynamic Assessment (DA) was rarely available in the UK until 1994. This is the first study to explore the outcomes of its availability in terms of the practice of DA and perceptions about it among educational psychologists (EPs). One hundred and nineteen EPs, who had taken positive steps to inform themselves about DA by undertaking some degree of training or by joining a DA interest group, were surveyed to explore the extent of their initial training in DA, subsequent use of it and issues of implementation. Overall, the 88 responses (74%) received suggest, among those surveyed, widespread awareness of DA as a model of cognitive assessment and positive attitudes to it, coupled with a low level of implementation. The low level of use was frequently attributed to insufficient training in DA, to lack of time due to other assessment priorities, often set by the local education authority, and to lack of the ongoing expert support felt to be necessary to maintain use of a demanding form of assessment. The authors take the position that the EP's repertoire would be enriched by improved knowledge of and training in DA. The research raises important issues for cognitive assessment and raises the broader question whether there is a need for the more proactive involvement of educators in enhancing the cognitive functioning of children.     

Evolution des Jugements de Conservation des Quantités de Gaz Chez des Elèves de CM2

This research studies the evolution in taking into account the constancy of a quantity of air. It is studied following a didactic sequence aiming at helping the students to be conscious of the variation of physical dimensions different from volume, when describing the state of gas. The experiment has been carried out in a class of 21 students (10–11 years old). Important improvements are stated. They are analysed according to the didactic sequence and the physical experiments proposed in the evaluation test used for the research. The interpretation of the results concerns the knowledge about gas acquired by the students during the didactic sequence. The reference to the Piagetian theory in the field of teaching experimental sciences is discussed.     

The effects of specialized training on caregivers and children in early-years settings: An evaluation of the foundation course in playgroup practice

This study examined the effects of a 120-hour preschool training course on caregivers’ behavior and children’s development in early-years settings. Sixteen caregivers attending this training course and 17 comparison caregivers were assessed on a measure of caregiver sensitivity in the child-care centers in which they were employed. Sixty-eight children, two from each center, were assessed for social and cognitive competence. Both the training and comparison caregivers and children were observed before and after the former group attended the training course. Caregivers who received training made significant gains in positive relationship and decreased in levels of detachment. The children in their care made significant gains in complex social and cognitive play from pre- to post-training. The comparison group adults and children showed no significant improvements from pre- to post-test times.     

Does the modality principle for multimedia learning apply to science classrooms?

This study demonstrated that the modality principle applies to multimedia learning of regular science lessons in school settings. In the first field experiment, 27 Dutch secondary school students (age 16–17) received a self-paced, web-based multimedia lesson in biology. Students who received lessons containing illustrations and narration performed better on subsequent transfer tests than did students who received lessons containing illustrations and on-screen text. In the second field experiment, 55 Dutch secondary school students (age 16–17) received similar multimedia programs that allowed more self-pacing and required students to record the time to learn. The illustrations-and-narration group outperformed the illustrations-and-text group on subsequent transfer tests for students who required less time to learn but not for students who required more time to learn. The interaction of learning time spent with modality of presentation on post-test scores was studied. Implications for testing of the robustness of cognitive theory of multimedia learning are discussed.     

Do teachers make all their students play the same learning games? A comparative study of learning games in biology and English as a second language

This article, based upon the field of comparative didactics, seeks to contribute to the identification of generic and specific features in the teaching and learning process. More particularly, its aim was to examine, through the study of two different school subjects: biology and English as a second language, how passive didactic differentiation can develop and account for the gap in progress growing between more-able and less-able students. For our analysis, we adopt a didactic viewpoint basing our study on what is going on in the class when the teacher and her students interact and use notions borrowed from the Joint Action Theory in Didactics. At the end of the article, we mainly argue that more teacher training focused on ‘objects of learning’ and ‘knowledge-in-use’ is necessary if we want teachers to be able to produce didactic milieus adapted to students with mixed abilities and, more generally, if we want to increase epistemic access.     

Improving spatial thinking skills among undergraduate geology students through short online training exercises

ABSTRACT

Spatial reasoning is a critical skill in the Geosciences. Using a randomized control study with 592 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory and advanced Geology courses, our data indicates that regular, short interventions throughout an academic semester improve students’ spatial thinking skills significantly with a moderate to large effect size when compared to an instruction-as-usual control group. We found evidence for additional gains in students who participated also in hands-on training interventions. We found even larger training effects on students who achieved correct scores of >50% on the practice modules, with gains of almost three-quarter of a standard deviation relative to their baseline scores. Male and female students display significant differences in spatial skills, with males outperforming females. Training resulted in similar magnitudes of improvement in both genders, so we see no evidence that the interventions closed the gender gap. Using the initial performance as a baseline, poor performers’ spatial skills appear to improve through practice at the same rate as their peers. We argue that 15.4% of students improve their spatial skills through participation in the training towards a threshold that appears to be critical for participation in STEM careers. On a reflection survey, half of the students reported that they felt their spatial thinking skills improved through their participation, and over a third found the training beneficial for their overall learning in Geology or other classes. We hypothesise that formal training opportunities for spatial reasoning could increase the potential pool of students who successfully enter and succeed in Geoscience careers.     

“I Have Been Given the Power to Teach. The Children Understand Me Very Well.” The Social and Academic Impact of Deaf Teacher Training in Kenya

Kenya has 41 Deaf schools that serve children from Class 1 through secondary school. These schools are all characterised by the fact that they have very few teachers who are fluent in Kenyan sign language. In order to meet the needs of schools and to provide employment opportunities for Deaf Kenyan adults, a small non-governmental organisation identified Deaf secondary school students for training. They received two years of teacher training free of charge. Most have since been awarded teaching contracts by the Kenyan Teacher Service Commission or local school boards. This article reports on results from a preliminary study of the social and academic impacts of this innovation. Results indicate that Deaf teachers are inspirational in the classroom, represent a significant resource for their school communities and are preferred by Deaf students. A follow-up study on the relative learning gains of Deaf students when taught by Deaf teachers is planned once relevant data are available.     

Mentors’ Perceptions of their Roles with Students in Initial Teacher Training

Issues have been raised in The Cambridge Journal of Education by Edwards and by Booth about how the work of schools and colleges in initial teacher training can be complementary. In the study reported here, arrangements were made for teachers to spend time mentoring students. The students reported feeling the benefit of this. Although the mentors felt that even more time was required for mentoring than was officially allocated, they were positive about the value of mentoring. Their self‐reports showed that they had perceived themselves as playing roles which could be viewed as complementary to, rather than as duplicating, the roles of tutors. Accordingly, the study brings evidence to bear on the current debate about complementarity in the roles of colleges and schools in initial teacher training     

Investigating the impacts of targeted professional development around models and modeling on teachers' instructional practice and student learning

Developing understanding of models and proficiency with modeling practice is challenging for both teachers and students. This 2‐year study first investigated existing instructional strategies employed by teachers while teaching Earth and Space Science with dynamic physical models. Summer professional development introduced a conceptual framework, based on analogical reasoning, to help students strengthen and deepen the connections they make between a model and its real‐world referent. The framework draws explicit attention to correspondences and non‐correspondences between model and referent, an often overlooked component of modeling practice which underpins the ability to evaluate and thus improve a model. Teachers were guided to reflect on their own instructional use of models and to plan for integrating specific instructional strategies around models into their Year 2 practice. Classroom observation data reveal that from Years 1 to 2, teachers shifted from a more didactic approach in which they used physical models primarily as tools for demonstration toward more student engagement with models as problem‐solving tools. On an assessment measuring their students' ability to reason with and about models, pre‐post learning gains were higher in Year 2 than Year 1 across students at all ability levels. Together, these findings present evidence that teachers can learn to guide their students toward using physical models in ways that approximate key aspects of how scientists use runnable models, as envisioned by the Developing and Using Models practice of the Next Generation Science Standards.     

Instructional improvement and student engagement in post-secondary engineering courses: the complexity underlying small effect sizes

The current study leveraged a professional development programme for engineering faculty at a large research university to examine the impact of instructional improvement on student engagement. Professors who participated in the professional development were observed three times and rated using an existing observation protocol. Students in courses with instructors who participated and did not participate in the professional development were surveyed about their classroom engagement. The responses were used to conduct quasi-experimental comparisons. Results indicated that students in courses with professors who participated in the professional development self-reported 3% more behavioural and 2% more cognitive engagement than students with professors who did not participate. Within professional development group, follow-up comparisons showed that students in courses with the highest rated instructors self-reported 7% more cognitive engagement than students with lower ranked professors. Thematic coding of the qualitative data suggests that the highest rated instructors may have achieved these gains through the use of three domain general instructional strategies: activating prior knowledge, facilitating classroom interaction and promoting reflection. Findings are contextualised within extant literature reporting similar effect sizes, and implications for future engagement research from a classroom systems perspective are discussed.     

Effect of Varying Item Order on Multiple-Choice Test Scores: Importance of Statistical and Cognitive Difficulty

Research on the use of multiple-choice tests has presented conflicting evidence about the use of statistical item difficulty as a means of ordering items. An alternate method advocated by many texts is the use of cognitive difficulty. This study examined the effect of using both statistical and cognitive item difficulty in determining item order. Results indicated that those students who received items in an increasing cognitive order, no matter what the order of statistical difficulty, scored higher on hard items. Those students who received the forms with opposing cognitive and statistical difficulty orders scored the highest on medium-level items. The study concludes with a call for more research on the effects of cognitive difficulty and suggests that future studies examine subscores as well as total test results.     

Skills‐Based Training and Counseling Self‐Efficacy

The authors studied the effectiveness of the skilled counselor training model (SCTM). Counseling students who completed the SCTM demonstrated greater gains in skills acquisition and counseling self‐efficacy than counseling students who did not receive the training. At pretest, the counseling students in both groups, doing self‐appraisals, rated their performance of counseling skills significantly higher than trained raters assessed the students' performance of counseling skills. At posttest, members of the control group continued to overestimate their skills levels when compared with the ratings given by the trained raters, whereas, in comparison, students who received SCTM training underestimated their performance.     

Difficulties and reasonable adjustments carried out by Spanish faculty members to include students with disabilities

This study focuses on the experience of 20 Spanish faculty members who teach students with disabilities. We conducted semi‐structured individual and group interviews, and analysed the data using an inductive system of categories and codes. The results of this work describe the difficulties that faculty members encountered when including students with disabilities, and how they attended, through reasonable adjustments, to the educational needs of their students. Their testimonies produced a profile of professionals who recognise their own shortcomings while valuing the actions that they have undertaken in order to meet the needs of their students. From their perspective, these actions were more closely linked to their own willingness and the students’ efforts than to the training they had received on disability. In this sense, the present study shows that universities must provide more meaningful training in the field of disability and make firm institutional commitments to supporting their faculty members.     

Factors affecting Canadian teachers' willingness to teach sexual health education

Non-specialist teachers in Canada are increasingly required to teach sexual health topics. However, research suggests that they do not always do so willingly. This study examined the associations between the characteristics of non-specialist elementary and middle school teachers (n = 294) in Canadian schools and their willingness to provide sexual health education (SHE) and their perceptions of factors affecting their willingness to provide SHE. On average, the teachers were only somewhat willing to teach SHE and their willingness varied between topics. The teachers who reported greater willingness to teach SHE were more likely to be teaching middle school, have less teaching experience, have received training to teach SHE, feel more knowledgeable about sexual health, and view broad-based SHE as more important. More than 20% of participants identified 10 out of 11 factors as making them less willing to teach sexual health education; conversely, more than 20% of participants identified nine of these 11 factors as making them more willing to teach sexual health education. Teachers who were middle school teachers, had received training to teach sexual health, had more experience teaching SHE, and felt more knowledgeable about sexual health topics were more likely to regard all of these factors as enhancing their willingness to teach SHE. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for training designed to increase teachers' willingness to teach sexual health.